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Danielle Lachana

Sailing Northwards from Crete the next island we encounter is Santorini, famous for its beautiful sunsets, active volcano, the world's best preserved Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri  and ... its 'tomatokeftedes' ... (tomato fritters)!

Due to the lack of water on the island, a special type of tomato which is resistant to drought has been cultivated - The 'Tomatinia Santorinis' - the small Santorini Cherry Tomatoes. This variety is renowned for being particularly sweet and juicy, which is also due to the richness  of the volcanic soil.

You can substitute any small, ripe, sweet tomatoes -  so why not try this recipe and give a new look and taste to your fritters...

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RECIPE

(Makes about 8 fritters)

METHOD

Peel the tomatoes (the easiest way to do this is to immerse them in boiling water for a minute, plunge them into cold water then peel off the skin). Deseed them and very finely chop. Drain thoroughly in a colander. Peeling and deseeding makes the fritters crisper but you can omit this stage, in which case drain the tomatoes for at least half an hour.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes with the salt and pepper, spring onions and herbs, stirring with a spoon. Mix in the Feta cheese.

In a second bowl, mix the baking powder with the flour.

Add the flour to the tomato mixture gradually, stirring gently to obtain the consistency of a thick, but still wet, sticky batter / paste. Season to taste.

Pour the olive oil into a large frying pan to a depth of about ½ cm and put over a medium heat. When the oil is very hot, spoon in the batter 1 tablespoon at a time (it is easier to form shapes with a tablespoon than with your hands due to the moistness of the batter). If you like you can wet the spoon first to stop the batter sticking to it.

Cook for about 2 - 3 minutes until golden brown then turn over to cook on the other side for around the same time.

When cooked in the centre remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

Best served hot.